If you're a Star Wars fan, Skeleton Crew is the show to watch this December!

It'll soon be time to return to a galaxy far, far away, as Skeleton Crew, the latest Star Wars show, arrives on Disney+ on December 2, and if you're a fan of this franchise, it's not to be missed.

It's been a mixed year for Star Wars, with The Bad Batch finishing strong back in May, and The Acolyte having a disappointing run on the streaming platform, but it looks like Skeleton Crew could be just what's needed to get things moving again.

The show follows a group of kids who make a discovery on their home planet, which leads to them going off on an adventure across the stars, running into all kinds of danger, and meeting up with Jod Na Nawood, a mysterious and possibly Force-sensitive character portrayed by Jude Law.

Looking at the promotional material for the show, it seems like this will be taking things back to basics, with a simple story of adventures, close scrapes, and friendship, told through a cast of young characters. This could be the perfect opportunity to get a younger generation interested in Star Wars again.

There are shades of the Ewok TV movies made after Return of the Jedi, which also featured children in the main roles, lost on a strange planet. Here, it looks like the heroes are going up against a group of pirates, which are always fun villains, and are even better when given a Star Wars twist, while the trailers promise dogfights, shootouts, and plenty of action.

It's also got a lot going for it when it comes to pleasing fans who were around back in the 1980s, as the show's drawing on that period for inspiration in its story and setting. This is considered a peak time for Star Wars, with the release of Empire Strikes Back at the start of the decade, which is considered the best movie in the series.

The show is definitely leaning into the fact it's inspired by these like E.T., Goonies, and Explorers, with marketing material drawing comparisons to movies. Like most of these films, it all starts with a group of misfit kids in a small suburban town who make an extraordinary discovery that turns their lives upside down and leads to unexpected adventures. They even ride bikes, though this is Star Wars, so of course they're speeders.

There's clearly a market for shows influenced by the '80s, with Stranger Things retaining a strong following over the last decade, and having plenty of hype for its final season next year, it looks like the perfect time for a galaxy far, far away to go this route too.

It looks like the show is going to be taking things in a new direction too. For a while now, Star Wars has relied on self-reference to keep fans interested, bringing back old characters or returning to popular eras to retell stories. While it's set around the same time as The Mandalorian, Skeleton Crew seems to be largely independent from other shows, allowing the franchise to finally move off in a new direction.

This also means there won't be any cameos either. Whether it's Plageuis, Boba Fett, or Luke Skywalker, a lot of other series have kept inserting classic characters without making good use of them, but with this, it looks like we'll get to avoid that and focus on an all-new, original cast.

After The Acolyte, it seemed like the franchise had hit its lowest point, but this feels like it could be the boost Star Wars needs right now, and give a chance for some lighthearted fun before the second season of Andor arrives in April of next year, bringing a more serious tone with it. It's also led by showrunner Jon Watts who did a great job on the Spider-Man movies for the MCU, and has the right touch to mix comedy with real emotion and and pull it off perfectly.

If you're a Star Wars fan, keep your diaries open, as Skeleton Crew will be able to see you through the Christmas period. The first two episodes have been moved up a day and will now release on Disney+ on December 2, with the finale dropping on January 14!